Author's Playlist Pick:
Broken - Seether feat. Amy Lee
Somewhere - Within Temptation
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Chapter 2:
Broken Somewhere
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"How could you!" A scantily-clad brunette pursued Ace.
Ace walked a little faster. "Shut up," She growled. The rage moved in her chest like a living thing. Why did she have to deal with this crap?
"We trusted you – you BITCH -"
Smack!
The younger girl looked up at her from the floor. Blood tricked from her nose and down her chin. Hm, is my aim getting better? A distant part of Ace's mind wondered.
"I guess now I know what you really are." The girl sneered. The tears in her eyes mingled with the red.
Ace's fists were white-knuckled. She turned on her heel. "Pull yourself together." She darted through a door into a small, wood paneled study. It was decorated with dark woods and even darker fabrics. A woman with short, spiky black hair and warm grey eyes shot Ace a reserved smile from her desk in the center of the room. The monitor of a sleek computer cast an eerie light on her form.
"Smith-san again?"
The blonde leaned unsteadily against the door and licked a smear of blood off her knuckles. "Her little boyfriend got snared by a Siren. Had to take him out." Ace caught the girl's blank look and corrected herself. "A Kitsune, Himura." She'd slipped again, it was really annoying how many different names there were for the same darn things.
"Ah… well, your M-" Himura swallowed the word at Ace's glare. "There is a meeting."
Ace sighed as she stalked to the window. What a drag. Meetings, Meetings, Meetings, it was endless. Being top slayer in your year was not all it was cracked up to be. "You may have the rest of the evening off. We aren't going to get any more work done today anyway." She stalked to the window and ripped it open. Within moments she was crouching nimbly on the sill.
"You do realize we're on the third story right?"
"W-what are y-you doing? We're on the roof!" She gasped. The sigh was a puff of air across her ear, sending clouds of vapor around their faces and a shiver down her spine. "Don't you trust me?"
Ace looked over her shoulder with a small smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "Yeah." She took the plunge, felt the wind whip through her hair. She landed half-kneeling, without even rolling as basic training suggested. The updraft of air she had created was strong enough to keep her femurs from shattering.
She stood and began counting her way from the brick with the black spot.
One, two, three…
On the tenth brick she flipped up the camouflaged cap and pressed a button underneath. To her left a section of wall shifted aside to reveal a dark passage. She slipped into the shadows and the door ground closed behind her.
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"In light of the recent increase of virus activity, I would like to offer the services of our best agents to help hold your quadrant." The voice was a low rasp, like the woman had been gargling rocks.
"That won't be necessary. Sumire and I are more than enough."
"But insist Miss Nahashi. It wouldn't do to leave our fellow slayers so vulnerable."
"Lucia-san, shouldn't we think about -?" The higher pitched voice fell silent.
Ace leaned closer to the ornate hardwood door, trying to catch the murmured conversation.
"Very well." One of the young women replied. "We accept your proposal… for now."
Ace rested the flat of her palm against the door and drew in a deep breath.
The rough voice called. "Come in child, don't leave us waiting." Ace stepped through the door into a small, cozy office decorated in reds and browns. Two soft chairs were drawn up to a simple desk, behind which sat a woman rendered into a silhouette by the sheer cloth screen placed between her and the guests. The two girls she had met earlier that morning.
The little redhead in the uniform of a local school rested her hand on the arm of the blonde's chair, watching the other two girls with anxious eyes. She was cute Ace mused, in a wide-eyed, innocent way. That one was probably Sumire, which made the other… Lucia watched her with one sharp blue eye. Ace had to restrain a chuckle when the pale girl's hand crept possessively over Sumire's, drawing a small blush, the green eyes often glancing at entwined hands. However, Lucia's sharp gaze never wavered from her own. "She is one of the best slayers our academy has to offer. I hope she will serve you well." Ace could sense the order behind the words. She met the little redhead's eyes, and the rage reveled at the discomfort – fear – reflected there.
She smiled, and the anger growled with satisfaction at Lucia's answering glare.
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The girl known as Lucy Smith rested her forehead against her fiancé's right shoulder, fingering the plain gold band in her palm, the pair to her diamond engagement ring. The steady beep of a heart monitor, scent of bleach and the yawning absence of his left arm gave her no peace from the thoughts circling around in hear head. She lifted her head to trace his face with her eyes. His drawn, pale face framed by short red hair, handsome in an unapologetically masculine way. Gnawed lips brushed his brow.
"Luka." He breathed.
Her chair hit the wall, the girl known as Lucy Smith cowered on the far side of the room, nestled between an ugly plastic plant and a table in an obscene shade of puce.
"Luka."
The girl known as Lucy Smith cupped her hand over her ears. "No." She sobbed, raking mails over skin. Her feet shoved her back into the wall, trying to flee the cacophony of voices. Within a few moments she was curled into a quivering ball.
Luka.
Luka opened her eyes, and her plus shaped pupils narrowed with glee. A smirk curled her pale lips. "Luka." She whispered.
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It was late in the evening when Ace finished her work around the school. Sometimes it seemed like there was no one else to teach the new recruits, check the weapons cache, or lead a patrol, but that was the price of being acknowledged as the best. She trailed her fingers along the rough concrete wall, too tired to react when her hand slid over a patch of slime mold. The Doctor's office came into view on her left, the light slipping under the door illuminating the hallway with a sleepy glow. Unsurprising, the man hardly left his "children".
Soft snores were emanating from the room, so she didn't bother with the usual subtleties. She eased the door open…
"Hello, Morimoto." A voice hissed. A sharp strike between the shoulder blades. Her arms were twisted painfully behind her back.
"Ah- Wha-" The hands bashed her head against the wall.
"Shut up!" A voice punded in time with the pain. - No. The voice fell silent. "You hurt my poor little Guy. Now I'm going to hurt you." The young woman trembled. Earth and air were no use here, but prehaps... fire bloomed in the slayer's hands. Luka shrieked and flung the Ace away, moving out of the range of her flames.
The blaze licked it's way up Ace's arms, blacking her clothing, reddening her skin. The flames rejected her. A whimper rose in her throat at the scent of scorched hair.
Luka's voice went low and sultry. Ah, she enjoyed pain! "You know, I never took you for that kind of girl Acie. Who did you kill? Who did you murder for it?"
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Authors Note:
I would like to thank zaisuro for reviewing and fav-ing. You guys should thank him, his review made me believe that there are actually people reading this fic. *cough* So he's actually the reason this partial chapter is here now. Kudos Zaisuro! ^^
If you're even the slightest bit interested in this story, keep your eyes on it. I plan to update sometime soon with the rest of the chapter.